The present invention relates generally to separator apparatus employed for processing natural gas wellhead effluent, and in particular, to a separator system which will separate solids such as coal, gas and water at the wellhead site.
When processing natural gas at the wellhead site to produce sales gas, it is conventional practice to provide a system for separation of water and hydrocarbons which may include conventional high or low pressure separator apparatus as generally described in my prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,579 565 and 4,198,214 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. In general, such separator apparatus comprises a horizontal vessel having a gas-operated heater associated with a fire tube located in the vessel to provide heat and pressure during the separation process whereby light end hydrocarbons are separated from heavy end hydrocarbons and water to produce sales gas. Such apparatus and systems are designed to be continuously operable at the wellhead site without the necessity for the presence of operator personnel and are intended to be continuously operable by use of self-generated supply gas used for heater fuel and for operation of controls.
In some situations, such as a natural gas well located in a coal field, the wellhead effluent may contain relatively large amounts of water and solid materials such as coal pieces, particles and dust, which can cause problems in production of sales gas and also create environmental problems in connection with disposal of waste material.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide continuously operable separator apparatus which will separate gas, water and solids such as coal in wellhead effluent at the wellhead site in an efficient low cost manner.
Another object of the invention is to provide separator apparatus which will be non-polluting in operation, prevent loss of gas, and enable recovery of the solids.
These and other objects will become apparent throughout the following description of the invention.